US3687262A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Article handling apparatus
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1971-05-24
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Granted: 1972-08-29
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Expires: 1991-05-24
Abstract
Abstract Newly formed articles of glassware are continuously fed single file and in longitudinally spaced relationship on a conveyor, and groups of them are pushed diagonally toward one edge of the conveyor, and thence laterally across a deadplate onto a wider lehr conveyor, by a horizontally extending pusher bar which is pendulously mounted on a pair of depending parallel arms. The arms are pivotally mounted on a reciprocable carriage, and as so supported the pusher bar swings through an arc during forward movement of the carriage. In spite of being pendulously supported on these arms the pusher bar is restrained to movement in a horizontal plane during forward movement of the carriage by providing a non-linear carriage track, so shaped as to raise and lower the pivotally mounted arms as the pusher bar swings through its arc. Each arm has a spur gear which meshes with a rack gear slidably mounted in the carriage for movement of a cross-slide perpendicularly with respect to the forward direction of movement of the carriage. A cam follower is connected to the rack gear and engages a fixed cam to move the rack gear in timed relationship with forward movement of the carriage to achieve the diagonal motion of the pusher bar. An air motor is used as an air spring to urge the cam follower into an active position in engagement with the fixed cam, and said motor is also sued to move the cam follower from its engaged position to a disengaged position thereby sliding the rack gear through a substantial angle so as to raise the pusher bar during return movement of the carriage.
Inventors
- 👤 Lyman L Campbell
- 👤 Constantine W Kulig
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 23:11
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G47/00; B65G47/74; B65G47/82; C; C03; C03B; C03B35/00; C03B35/04; C03B35/06; C03B35/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
265 words
Article handling apparatus comprising an infeed conveyor for advancing the articles single file in a first direction, a lehr conveyor oriented normally with respect to the infeed conveyor, a deadplate adjacent one side of said infeed conveyor and located at the upstream end of said lehr conveyor, and cyclically operable means for transferring groups of articles from said infeed conveyor across said deadplate onto said lehr conveyor, said article transfer means including a fixed frame on the opposite side of said infeed conveyor, an article engaging pusher bar, a carriage movably mounted on said frame for reciprocating movement generally toward and away from the upstream end of said lehr conveyor, means for so moving said carriage, saiD carriage having a cross-slide thereon reciprocable in a direction parallel said first direction, means for reciprocating said cross-slide in timed relationship with reciprocation of said carriage, a pair of depending crank arms pivotally supported in said carriage and oscillatable in response to said reciprocating movement of said cross-slide, said pusher bar being pivotally supported on the free ends of said crank arms so that it moves parallel to said first direction in response to reciprocating movement of said cross-slide, said means for so moving said cross-slide and said carriage being so timed with respect to one another that the pusher bar moves initially diagonally toward a group of articles on said infeed conveyor to engage them and move the articles diagonally across said infeed conveyor, said pusher bar then moving laterally across said deadplate to push the group of articles across the deadplate and onto the lehr conveyor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
265 words
Article handling apparatus comprising an infeed conveyor for advancing the articles single file in a first direction, a lehr conveyor oriented normally with respect to the infeed conveyor, a deadplate adjacent one side of said infeed conveyor and located at the upstream end of said lehr conveyor, and cyclically operable means for transferring groups of articles from said infeed conveyor across said deadplate onto said lehr conveyor, said article transfer means including a fixed frame on the opposite side of said infeed conveyor, an article engaging pusher bar, a carriage movably mounted on said frame for reciprocating movement generally toward and away from the upstream end of said lehr conveyor, means for so moving said carriage, saiD carriage having a cross-slide thereon reciprocable in a direction parallel said first direction, means for reciprocating said cross-slide in timed relationship with reciprocation of said carriage, a pair of depending crank arms pivotally supported in said carriage and oscillatable in response to said reciprocating movement of said cross-slide, said pusher bar being pivotally supported on the free ends of said crank arms so that it moves parallel to said first direction in response to reciprocating movement of said cross-slide, said means for so moving said cross-slide and said carriage being so timed with respect to one another that the pusher bar moves initially diagonally toward a group of articles on said infeed conveyor to engage them and move the articles diagonally across said infeed conveyor, said pusher bar then moving laterally across said deadplate to push the group of articles across the deadplate and onto the lehr conveyor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
55 words
The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocably moving said carriage includes a lever pivotally mounted in the machine frame, a rotary cam for moving the lever in one direction, biasing means for urging the lever in the opposite direction, and means connecting the free end of said lever to said carriage.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocating said cross-slide in timed relationship with movement of said carriage comprises a fixed cam mounted in said frame, a cam follower on said cross-slide, and biasing means for urging said cam follower into contact with said fixed cam.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
47 words
The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said cross-slide includes rack gear portions adjacent the pivoted upper ends of said crank arms, spur gears meshing with said rack gear portions and oscillatable in response to movement of said rack gear to oscillate said crank arms in unison.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
55 words
The combination defined in claim 3 wherein said means for reciprocably moving said carriage includes a lever pivotally mounted in the machine frame, a rotary cam for moving the lever in one direction, biasing means for urging the lever in the opposite direction, and means connecting the free end of said lever to said carriage.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
95 words
The combination defined in claim 5 wherein said means connecting the free end of said lever to said carriage comprises a pivoted joint adjacent one end of said carriage, said fixed frame defining guide means for slidably supporting the other end of said carriage, said guide means comprising a pair of spaced cam tracks and rollers for imparting slight vertical motion to said cross arms and said pusher bar so that the latter moves parallel to the surface of said infeed conveyor and said deadplate during its initial diagonal movement and subsequent lateral movement thereacross.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
54 words
The combination defined in claim 6 wherein said lever moving in a vertical plane and is pivotally supported adjacent its lower end in said fixed frame, said pivoted joint being provided at its upper end, and which lever carries a cam follower intermediate its upper and lower ends for engagement with said rotary cam.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
60 words
The combination defined in claim 7 wherein said rotary cam and said fixed cam are so shaped that said carriage and said cross-slide move said pusher bar inwardly after crossing said deadplate in said lateral direction across an upstream portion of said lehr conveyor and then return in the opposite lateral direction prior to further oscillation of said crank arms.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
119 words
The combination defined in claim 8 wherein said biasing means for said cross-slide comprises a fluid operable cylinder and piston which cooperates to define a first chamber, said first chamber being selectively communicable with a source of fluid pressure to urge said cam follower on said cross-slide toward said fixed cam, said fluid cylinder and piston defining a second chamber opposite the first, and said second chamber being selectively communicable with a source of fluid pressure to permit movement of said cam follower away From said fixed cam to rotate said crank arms through substantial angles raising said pusher bar for return movement of said carriage to clear the next group of articles being advanced on said infeed conveyor.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
53 words
The combination defined in claim 9 further characterized by control means for said fluid operable pusher bar raising means to sequentially move said cam follower away from said fixed cam and to return said cam follower to its active position for following said fixed cam during the next forward movement of said carriage.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
151 words
Article handling apparatus comprising one conveyor for moving the articles in one direction, and a lehr conveyor oriented normally to said one conveyor, a fixed frame adjacent said one conveyor and opposite said lehr conveyor, a carriage movably mounted on said frame for reciprocating movement toward and away from said lehr conveyor, a cross-slide on said carriage and movable at right angles to the direction of said carriage movement, a pair of depending crank arms pivotally supported in said carriage for oscillatory motion in response to movement of said cross-slide, an article engaging bar pivotally supported on the depending free ends of said crank arms so that said bar moves parallel to the direction of movement of said one conveyor, means for moving said carriage, and means for moving said cross-slide in timed relationship with respect to said carriage movement so that said bar moves generally diagonally across said one conveyor.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
151 words
Article handling apparatus comprising one conveyor for moving the articles in one direction, and a lehr conveyor oriented normally to said one conveyor, a fixed frame adjacent said one conveyor and opposite said lehr conveyor, a carriage movably mounted on said frame for reciprocating movement toward and away from said lehr conveyor, a cross-slide on said carriage and movable at right angles to the direction of said carriage movement, a pair of depending crank arms pivotally supported in said carriage for oscillatory motion in response to movement of said cross-slide, an article engaging bar pivotally supported on the depending free ends of said crank arms so that said bar moves parallel to the direction of movement of said one conveyor, means for moving said carriage, and means for moving said cross-slide in timed relationship with respect to said carriage movement so that said bar moves generally diagonally across said one conveyor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
53 words
The combination defined in claim 11 wherein said cross-slide moving means further includes a fixed cam mounted in said frame, a cam follower on said cross-slide, and biasing means for urging said cam follower into contact with said fixed cam for controlling said bar when the bar is in engagement with the articles.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
48 words
The combination defined in claim 12 wherein said cross-slide comprises rack gear portions adjacent the pivoted upper ends of said crank arms, spur gears meshing with said rack gear portions and oscillatable in response to movement of said rack gear portions to oscillate said crank arms in unison.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
95 words
The combination defined in claim 13 wherein said biasing means comprises a fluid motor having one part mounted on said carriage and a movable part connected to said cross-slide, and control means for said fluid motor to selectively pressurize one side of said movable part for said biasing function and the opposite side to move said cam follower away from said fixed cam to cause the bar to swing upwardly until it is clear of the articles on said conveyor for return movement prior to again engaging articles to move them generally diagonally as aforesaid.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
54 words
The combination defined in claim 11 wherein said means for moving said carriage comprises a lever pivotally mounted in said machine frame, a rotary cam for moving the lever in one direction, biasing means for urging the lever in the opposite direction, and means connecting the free end of said lever to said carriage.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
58 words
The combination defined in claim 14 wherein said means connecting the free end of said lever to said carriage comprises a pivoted joint adjacent one end of said carriage, guide means for slidably supporting the opposite end of said carriage and serving to impart slight vertical motion to said cross-slide and associated crank arms and article engaging bar.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
57 words
The combination defined in claim 15 wherein said lever moves in a vertical plane and is pivotally supported at its lower end in said fixed frame, said pivoted joint being provided at the upper end of said lever, and a cam follower intermediate the upper and lower ends of said lever for engagement by said rotary cam.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
53 words
The combination defined in claim 16 wherein said cross-slide moving means further includes a fixed cam mounted in said frame, a cam follower on said cross-slide, and biasing means for urging said cam follower into contact with said fixed cam for controlling said bar when the bar is in engagement with the articles.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
48 words
The comBination defined in claim 17 wherein said cross-slide comprises rack gear portions adjacent the pivoted upper ends of said crank arms, spur gears meshing with said rack gear portions and oscillatable in response to movement of said rack gear portions to oscillate said crank arms in unison.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
95 words
The combination defined in claim 18 wherein said biasing means comprises a fluid motor having one part mounted on said carriage and a movable part connected to said cross-slide, and control means for said fluid motor to selectively pressurize one side of said movable part for said biasing function and the opposite side to move said cam follower away from said fixed cam to cause the bar to swing upwardly until it is clear of the articles on said conveyor for return movement prior to again engaging articles to move them generally diagonally as aforesaid.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-08-29 | 1976-02-28 | 1976-08-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-08-29 | 1980-02-28 | 1980-08-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-08-29 | 1984-02-28 | 1984-08-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |